The shear strength of end web panels of plate girders with tension field action

• Shear test results of plate girders with a single double-sided transverse stiffener at support showed significant post-buckling strength reserve in shear buckling mode of end web panels.
• The proposed strength formulae for the DSM can predict reasonable shear strengths of end web panels of plate girders.

This paper describes a series of shear tests of plate girders fabricated from steel plates with a nominal yield stress of 235 MPa for the web and 315 MPa for flanges. The ultimate shear strength and performance of end web panels with a single double-sided transverse stiffener at support of plate girders undergoing a significant tension field action were investigated experimentally and theoretically. According to shear test results, post-buckling strength in the shear buckling mode has a significant effect on the ultimate shear strength of end web panels of plat girders. Design shear strength formulae for the direct strength method (DSM) for end web panels of plate girders were developed based on shear test results. The results verify that DSM shear curves can accurately predict the ultimate shear strength of web panels of plate girders showing a significant post-buckling behavior in the shear buckling mode.